I am a proud non-musician.
I cannot read or write musical notation. I rarely know what
musical key I am playing in. I have stickers on my keyboard reminding my which
note is which. I’ve never taken any lessons (although I have discussed some
fundamentals with a couple music teachers). I can still learn from picking up a
“for beginners” or “for dummies” book on just about any instrument.
Was it talent that got us there?
Hell no! I was a 4 chord wonder with the talent level of
“suck ass”. What I had going for me was the ability to construct catchy songs
that didn’t overextend my talent. I have of course improved over the years, but
you still won’t find me ripping solos anytime soon.
So despite this so-called disadvantage I have been able to
be fairly successful as a guitarist, a keyboardist, an electronic musician and
a DJ. When I say I am a non-musician, I don’t want you to think that I’ve not
picked up plenty of tricks and techniques along my musical journey. I just want
to make it clear that I have never attempted to impress anyone with my complex
scales and solos. For most of the music I enjoy, none of that stuff was ever
much of a concern.
There is no doubt that I have put limits on myself by not
subscribing to the need for more musical education. I simply gave myself
permission to create anyway. In the same way, I am by no means a trained
writer. I have a limited vocabulary and I wouldn’t win any spelling bee’s. I’m
certain a professional could construct my ideas in a more organized way and
perhaps even get my message across better and in a more focused way.
Regardless, I allow myself to express ideas through writing and share it with
whoever finds value in it. I keep a “learn as you go” or a “learn from doing”
mentality to my creative work.
Limitations:
I personally think limitations are a good thing. With less
choices, you have the ability to go from an idea to a completed piece of work
more directly and efficiently. It also leaves less time for your left brain to
start second guessing things. I suppose if I had come across an overwhelming
amount of people telling me my music and/or my writing sucked and offered no
value to anyone, I would have to consider either finding another creative
outlet, or learn some skills that would help me convey my ideas in a more
understandable or enjoyable way.
From my personal experience, I have found that musicians,
for the most part:
* Tend to not work well with other musicians
* Tend to be more interested in themselves than with
complimenting the people they are playing with and tend to prefer playing
difficult things (often at loud volumes) even when simplicity complements a
song better.
*Tend to be very good at playing impressive riffs that have
been played into the ground by other “musicians” already.
* Tend to play music from a more critical, technical and
sterile left brained perspective.
* Play to impress other musicians but don’t often connect
with the majority of non-musician listeners.
* Often shrug off the beauty of happy accidents and
incidentals that would make their music more unique, expressive and human.
* Tend to be happy just playing their instrument day in and
day out without the desire to play with a collaboration of instruments in mind.
* Tend to learn all of their favorite leads and solos
instead of investigating what makes their instrument work well throughout a
whole song.
* Rarely have the perspective to know when NOT to play.
(If you are a talented musician and don’t fall into any of
these categories, my utter respect goes out to you. YOU are the ones us
non-musicians would love to have in our company. I don’t think any of us have
an issue with musical ability but more with the approach to collaborating with
others ideas whether they be simple or complex. )
Some would say you need talent to get anywhere in anything
in life. I tend to come from the “work with a childlike curiosity and passion
and don’t be afraid to suck for a while”.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge” Albert
Einstein
It is much better to have imagination and not be able to
perform it than have talent but nothing worth playing. I can always hire
someone to play something that i can’t, however if I have talent but no
inspired ideas to start with, the best I could ask for is to become someone
else’s hired hand.
In most cases, I can break a complex part down into several
simplistic parts. I typically never try to learn something just because it is
complex, but rather only push myself when I am not yet able to play what I am
inspired to. Since much of what I like to create musically is fairly simple
(well, ok, maybe I have somewhat complex electronic sequences at times), I
don’t often feel the need to stop what I’m doing and build my talent. I quite
enjoy being a hack with taste ;-)
Here are some advantages I feel have come from my lack of
musical talent:
*I have very few musical rules that stand in the way of
expressing my ideas
*Every time I discover a new chord or sound it’s a magical
personal experience. Had I started learning every chord known to man, nothing I
ever played would be a surprise to me. As it is, I can be amazed and surprised
by what others might consider to be frighteningly simple.
*I have no fear of simplicity
*Instead of learning song structure and arrangement AFTER
learning all those complex solos and chord progressions, I first learn the
simple building blocks to song construction. The big surprise in this is to discover
that rarely do the complexities actually draw you to a song.
*I’m not afraid to manipulate, edit, destroy or erase any
part I create because without my talent based ego involved I have little
attachment to what I create.
*I get to continue to have a childlike naivety and curiosity
to every new project I start.
*I have less resistance to switching musical gears,
instruments or styles.
*It’s much easier to walk away from something that isn’t
working, even if you have put a good amount of time into it
*You become much more interested in the sound of your full
song than in the sound of the instrument you play best (often times not the
most interesting part of your song).
*I am still able to enjoy listening to simple music without
a judgmental ear. (I do however daydream about how a certain sound was
achieved, but the “not knowing” keeps music magical and mysterious)
*I get to spend more of my time actually making my own music
instead of learning someone else’s (more creative output).
*It bugs the hell out of “real” musicians when you break
rules and still come up with something listenable, likeable or even catchy.
Now don’t think of a non-musician as a person who lacks
taste…
Some of my biggest musical contributors have never picked up
an instrument, let alone made a song. However these people are able to give me
an immediate non biased opinion on what works and what doesn’t in a song I am
working on. They don’t know or care how much time I put into a particular sound
or instrument. It either sounds good or it doesn’t in their mind. I prefer a non-musicians
opinion as much if not more than someone with a background in music. The
balance of both creates the best results when in need of an opinion.
Between the notes:
I like to think that the true beauty in a musical piece lies
between the notes. It’s the indefinable something that you can’t put your
finger on.
I believe that intention comes across in a performance.
Anger, frustration, fear, joy, exhilaration all can come through the notes.
That is why some songs can never be topped by even the best of cover bands.
Then again, sometimes a cover version explores a deeper emotion than the
original had intended.
I think that what happens between the notes is that every
moment has an unlimited variety of possible outcomes and subtleties and
intention makes the choice to express that moment a particular way. Intention
is the energy that drives what you play and how you play it but it lives
outside of the notes… and talent. Music is an expression and, like laughing or
crying, it can’t be wrong if it is pure, even if it isn’t technically correct.
I find technical correctness to be a bit too sterile to conjure a real
emotional reaction.
You then would say “but what about electronic music that is
programmed on sequencers and samplers”?
I would say that all depends on whether the machine or the
button pusher is in control. At the end of the day, it’s the songwriter that
has to say “yes, THAT is what I was trying to express” or lose the battle for
expression with the default sound or vibe the machine creates. I don’t really
see how a piano is much different though. I think a band like Kraftwerk or
Tangerine Dream have a whole lot more going on between the notes than a live
band like Good Charlotte or Lincoln Park(yes, that is an opinion.. deal with
it!).
You may ask “If you are not interested in talent, then how
can you possibly like classical music?
Good question…
Classical music takes some talent to play and in many cases,
a whole lot of talent. Why would I have a more favorable opinion on this? Here
is why:
Most classical music is dreamed up and written before it is
ever played. When writing a classical piece there is much care put into making
each part fit perfectly within the spectrum of many other instruments.
Classical pieces are written with a lot of dynamics from full and loud to soft
and sparse. Parts are written to have a star role but then slip happily into
the background to let another instrument take over. The writer of a classical
piece concerns himself/herself with the loud, the soft, the simple and the
complex and everything in-between. This type of talent and musicianship gives
me enormous joy and gratitude. These musicians would fall under the category of
“works well with others” (even if the “others” are simply different complementing
ideas from the same brain). The reason I love Classical music is very similar
to the reason I love electronic music. It seems that in both of these styles,
the song is much more important than any particular instrument.
The Studio as an instrument:
I’m sure it is true that many of us non-musicians are able
to create wonderful pieces of music because we have become very proficient at
using our studios as an instrument. As with classical music, composing full
songs does take some talent and know how, but the focus of our skills is in
making many instruments work together in a perfect balance. This type of talent
is the type that pushes music forward while the typical so-called “musician”
continues to enforce musical rules the have been passed down from the ages.
While some of these rules can be very helpful in building your musical
vocabulary, they can be very restrictive when you want to find a new way to
express sound.
The few of you that are incredibly gifted on an instrument
as well as gifted in songwriting and collaborating with non-conventional ideas,
my highest respect goes out to you. For those of you who are new to all of
this, I hope this has given you a bit of confidence to give it a shot. I hope
you realize that you don’t need to be a virtuoso in order to make music people
will enjoy.
Happy Music Making,
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